


If We Met Sooner

by Rui_The_Galax_Angel



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, goro's mum is alive because i said so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 10:23:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19130098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rui_The_Galax_Angel/pseuds/Rui_The_Galax_Angel
Summary: An AU in which Ren and Goro meet and become friends as children. As they grow older, their relationship grows closer.





	1. The Power Of Friendship And Justice!

**Author's Note:**

> I was replaying P5 and Goro's "If only we had met sooner" gets to me every damn time. Then I started wondering what would happen if they had met sooner... So, I wrote this.
> 
> There's gonna be three chapters:  
> One for elementary school.  
> One for middle school.  
> One for high school.
> 
> I hope that you guys will enjoy this fic. Just keep in mind that it may take me a while to write the other chapters. I'm trying to sort some stuff irl and I've got a few other projects I'm (trying to) work on. But I'll try my best not to keep you guys waiting.

Goro sat beneath a large tree in the local park, pulling his knees to his chest and scowling sulkily. He had gotten home from school, only to discover that he had forgotten to put his house key in his school bag that morning. The eight year old had called his mother from the small cellphone she had given him for emergencies, but his mother had informed him that she had to work an extra hour and wouldn't finish until four. Restless, Goro checked the time on his phone: 3:40PM.

"Twenty more minutes..." He huffed quietly to himself as he rested his head against his knees. It was late March, so the sun was starting to set and there was a slight chill in the wind. He was hungry and wanted some dinner, he needed to use the computer to do his homework, he had a letter from school for his mum to sign... Everything he needed was inside the house that he couldn't get into, thanks to his own forgetfulness. The chestnut haired boy let out another loud, irritated huff. He shifted his shoulder uncomfortably as they were beginning to ache from his heavy bag hanging from them. Tapping his foot in annoyance, Goro was distracted from his stewing anger by the sound of a loud 'snap'. His head quickly perked up as he began to feel a little anxious. Before he could consider the possible sources of the noise, a yelp sounded out from above him as a blur fell down from the tree and landed next to him with a large thud.

"Oof!" A voice huffed out, completely out of breath. Goro sat there, completely frozen, staring at the heap with wide eyes. It was a boy. A boy about his age. A boy about his age just fell out of the tree. Goro's mind was completely blank. How was he supposed to process this? The boy was relatively scrawny with cuts and bruises all over his arms, legs and face. He had scruffy, raven hair and onyx eyes. There was dirt smudges all over his body and clothes. There were dozens of twigs and leaves stuck in his hair.

'His hair looks like a bird's nest...' Goro thought to himself. The strange child groaned as he carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position and stared up at the tree. Goro remained completely still and stared at him. After a few seconds of complete silence, the raven haired boy's face scrunched up into a bitter scowl as his bottom lip trembled. Tears began streaming down his chubby cheeks as he wailed sadly. Goro flinched at the sight.

"Are you, um... Are you okay?" He anxiously asked, leaning closer to the crying boy. The boy sniffed and hiccuped nervously, finally noticing the presence of the other boy. He furiously wiped his eyes before speaking.

"I-I was walking home, through... through the park. A-An-And these big kids c-came over and pushed me around... Then, they, they took my bag and threw into the tree... And now I can't get it back!" He explained before bursting into tears again. Goro glanced up at the tree and sure enough, there was a backpack hanging from a pretty high up branch.

'That's why he's got all those scratches and bruises...' Goro realised as he stole a glance back at the tearful boy. Now that he thought about it, he did see a group of twelve years as he wandered through the park... He was irritated for a completely different reason now. Those kids were bigger and older than him! They should know better! He puffed his cheeks out in annoyance as he slipped his bag off his back and rolled up his sleeves. He bent his knees before springing up and grabbing onto the tree trunk with all his might. After making completely sure that he had steady footing, he began to climb. He climbed very quickly, reaching the branches wide enough the stand on in almost no time at all. The fluffy haired boy stared up at him in disbelief, so shocked that he had stopped crying. Goro carefully balanced himself on one of the wider branches and analysed his possible routes. He tiptoed cautiously across the branches, edging his way over to the backpack. He could hear the other boy gasp as he got within arm's length of the bag.

"Easy..." Goro mumbled to himself as he carefully positioned himself, grabbing onto a branch above him and leaning forward.

"Almost got it..." He muttered as his fingers brushed against one of the bag's straps. He shifted his body forward a little more and quickly lunged, firmly grabbing the bag's strap and yanking it down from the branch it was stuck on. He heard the raven haired boy gasp again, this time excitedly, as he began to carefully shuffle back the way he came. The fluffy haired boy stared up at him in awe, clenching his fists in front of his chest. After reaching a certain height, Goro lowered himself from the branch, hanging from it with his hands and then jumped down. He landed perfectly right next to the bruised boy.

"Here you go." The chestnut haired boy sweetly said, pulling the bag off his shoulder and handing it to its owner.

"Thank you so much! That was so cool! You were like a monkey!" The boy cheerfully exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

"I-It was nothing..." Goro mumbled bashfully as his cheeks flushed a light pink.

"By the way, why'd you help me?" The raven haired boy asked, curiously cocking his head to the side.

"Well, I mean, I'm not gonna ignore someone who needs help... It's against my justice! After all, the crimson fist of justice always strikes true!" Goro dramatically explained with a smirk.

"You watch Phoenix Ranger Featherman too?! Awesome!" The fluffy haired boy gasped as he began rummaging around in his bag, pulling out a Feather Red action figure.

"Luckyyyyyy! I wanted that figure but they were sold out!" Goro whined as he stared at the figure with desperate eyes.

"You can borrow it if you want! It's my thank you for helping me!" The boy giggled happily, flashing a large grin as he shoved the figure into Goro's hands. The chestnut haired boy stared down at the figure in disbelief when a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Thank you so much, but uh, what's your name? My name's Goro Akechi." He asked, extending his tiny hand towards the other boy.

"I'm Ren Amamiya! I'm seven!" Ren replied, almost bragging about his age.

"I'm eight."

"Dang it..." Ren muttered with a disappointed pout. Goro giggled at the childish response before noticing a book that had fallen out of Ren's bag. As he bent down to pick it up, he noticed the words 'Samegawa Elementary School'.

"Oh, you go to Samegawa? I go there too." Goro commented in surprise.

"Really?! That's so cool, we could hang out at school!" Ren exclaimed excitedly, slipping his book back into his bag and zipping it up.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Goro replied with a bright smile. The two boys smiled at each other until Ren quietly grunted and rubbed his arm.

"Are you okay?" The chestnut haired boy asked, concerned about the other boy.

"Yeah... I just kinda ache a bit..." Ren mumbled, glancing down at the cuts and bruises littering his body. Goro frowned determinedly before picking his own bag back up and stepping closer to Ren.

"I'll walk you home!" He announced.

"W-What?" Ren asked, caught off guard by Goro's statement.

"Well, someone's gotta keep an eye out for those bullies! And I'll help explain your injuries to your mum." Goro explained with a proud grin. Ren just stared at Goro in surprise and bashfully scratched his cheek.

"A-Are you sure?" He checked, not wanting to trouble Goro.

"I said I was gonna, so I'm gonna!" Goro huffed, irritatedly puffing out his cheeks.

"W-Well, okay, if you're sure... Thanks!" Ren shyly thanked him as the two young boys began walking out of the park and down the street.

"So, umm... Whereabouts do you live?" asked Goro, realising that he didn't know where to go.

"It's not that far. We've gotta go down to the end of this street, turn left, walk halfway down that street, take the first right and then we're there." Ren explained, pointing the directions as he spoke.

"Huh. That's a few streets away from where I live..." Goro muttered in surprise.

"Really?! How come we've never met each other before then?" Ren pondered as they turned the first corner.

"I dunno, but it's weird isn't it?" Goro replied. Although, now that he thought about it, he didn't go out and play too often since he'd rather stay at home and help his mum. Not to mention, Ren was in the year below him at school and the years didn't really get to interact with each other all that much. As he considered that, they turned the second corner.

"There's my house!" Ren announced, excitedly pointing to one of the houses in the street.

"The one with the blue mailbox?" Goro asked, making sure he was looking at the right one.

"Yep!" Ren giggled, sprinting over to his home and up the driveway. The chestnut haired boy jogged briskly in an attempt to catch up. After reaching the door, Goro stretched up onto his tiptoes and rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" A woman's voice called out as a shadow from inside the house approached the door. The door slid open to reveal Ren's mother, a slightly short woman with raven hair and deep blue eyes wearing a long pink dress and an apron covered in flour. Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed her battered son.

"Hello Amamiya-san, my name is Goro Akechi. I met Ren at the park earlier after some older kids picked on him and threw his bag into a tree. He tried to get his bag back but couldn't reach it, so I got it for him." He explained politely, standing up straight the entire time. The mother nodded thoughtfully as she shifted her gaze towards her son.

"Did they hurt you at all?" She asked, crouching down and picking out some of the leaves stuck in Ren's hair.

"They pushed me around a bit. Most of these are from when I kept falling out the tree." Ren answered honestly.

"Did you recognise any of them?" His mum persisted.

"Only one of them. It was that Morikawa-kun two streets down." answered Ren, pointing in the direction of the bully's house. The mother let out a stressed sigh at that news.

"Poor Yoshiko... Her son's been causing so much trouble recently and now I have to talk to her about this..." She muttered as she shook a few more twigs out of Ren's tangled hair. After noticing his mother's troubled frown, Ren spoke up.

"But Goro helped me! He got my bag out of the tree and he walked me back so the bullies wouldn't come back!" He explained cheerfully.

"Is that so?" The mother hummed, turning her attention back to the chestnut haired boy.

"Thank you for looking out for Ren." She expressed her gratitude with a soft smile.

"I-It's no problem at all, Ma'am!" Goro nervously responded. Amamiya couldn't help but giggle at the child's overly formal response.

"Goro?" A woman's voice called out from behind the boys. They turned around to discover a woman with waist length chestnut hair wearing a pink sweater and a knee length, flowing white skirt and pumps with a small black handbag. She was staring at the trio with a confused expression.

"Mama!" Goro cheered, running over to her and wrapping his arms around her legs. The woman gently patted his head.

"Are you his mother?" Ren's mother asked.

"Yes, I am... Has something happened?" Akechi answered, slight nervousness in her voice.

"Oh no, it's nothing bad! Your son just helped my son get his bag back from a tree and walked him back home after a bunch of big kids picked on him." Amamiya explained.

"Oh! That's so good to hear! Well done, sweetheart!" Akechi cheered, ruffling his hair with a proud smile. Goro just giggled shyly before remembering something.

"Oh! Mama, look, look! Ren has Feather Red! And he let me borrow him!" He announced, displaying the figure excitedly.

"Oh wow! Did you remember to say thank you?" Akechi softly asked. Goro just enthusiastically nodded his head.

"We'll have to try and arrange a playdate for the two of you, wouldn't you agree?" Ren's mother suggested, flashing a sweet smile at the two boys. They both instantly agreed with excited sparkles in their eyes.

"Looks like the answer is a yes." Goro's mother commented jokingly as she walked up the driveway, pulling her phone out of her handbag to exchange contact information with the raven haired woman.

"Yuri Amamiya." Yuri introduced herself as she pulled out her own phone.

"Sayaka Akechi." Sayaka replied as a quiet 'beep!' informed them that their contact information had been exchanged.

"Right, c'mon you lil mucky pup, let's get you into the bath." Yuri announced, patting Ren on the shoulder.

"We should probably be heading home too, you need some dinner." Sayaka cooed, gently grabbing onto her son's tiny hand and pulling him away from the house.

"Okay." Goro happily agreed, he was starving after all.

"Bye Goro! Thanks for everything today!" Ren called out, waving as Goro and his mother walked away, down the street.

"Bye Ren! See you at school tomorrow!" Goro called back, also waving. He continued waving until Ren and Yuri had disappeared back into their house.

"I'm so proud of you, Goro. Most people would have ignored poor Ren..." Sayaka commented, a slight hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Hm? Why? I couldn't just leave him alone... He was crying!" Goro huffed.

"Well... There's a lot of mean people in the world who just don't care about others..." Sayaka tried to explain with a nervous sigh.

"Then I'm never gonna be a person like that. A hero of justice helps everyone in need!" Goro determinedly stated.

"That's very good to hear, pancake. Now, since you've been such a good boy, I'll make you your favourite for dinner tonight, how does that sound?" Sayaka suggested, soothingly caressing her son's hand with her thumb.

"Yay! Thanks, Mama!!" Goro cheered as he sped up a litte, excited to finally eat dinner.


	2. Be Fair, You Are A Nerd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a while... I've been visiting family for the past couple of weeks.  
> I'll get started on the final chapter whenever motivation decides to return to me... That may take a while...

Goro let out a long yawn as he casually wandered down the street to school. He buried his hands into his coat pockets and nuzzled his face into his scarf. It was early December and there was a light dusting of frost on the ground, 'crunch' sounds echoing out with every step he took. The sky was very cloudy and a slightly odd colour.

"I wonder if we'll get any snow later today?" The chestnut haired boy quietly mumbled to himself. His mother had said that the weather report didn't show any snow, but looking at the sky, he wasn't quite sure. As he turned the corner, he noticed a familiar silhouette. The moment he saw that head of messy raven hair, he sped up to a jog. He caught up pretty quickly since Ren wasn't walking as fast as he usually did.

"Hey, Ren! Where were you yesterday? I heard people from your class saying that you weren't in!" He greeted with a big smile as he slung his arm round Ren's shoulder. The fluffy haired boy flinched in surprise and quickly glanced away.

"Morning." He mumbled, not looking at Goro.

"Hmm? What? You ignoring me? C'mon, what's wrong? You can talk to me, y'know? I am your friend AND your senpai!" Goro persisted with a slight smirk. Ren just hummed blandly in response. Goro was starting to get worried.

"Seriously, what's wrong? I'm here if you wanna talk... Just... Where were you yesterday?" He softly asked, patting Ren's shoulder.

"...cian's." Ren eventually muttered under his breath.

"Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that..." Goro awkwardly replied.

"I was at the optician's..." Ren huffed as he finally turned his face to look at Goro, revealing a pair of black, large framed glasses.

"Oh, is that it?" Goro absent-mindedly responded, pulling his arm off Ren's shoulders and shoving his frozen hand back into his pocket.

"Whaddya mean 'is that it'?!" Ren huffed, scowling at his best friend.

"Well, I mean, I was worried that something really bad had happened, so I'm pretty glad that it's just that you need glasses and not... y'know... uhh... your grandparent died." Goro explained.

"Yeah... I guess you're right..." Ren sighed, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"So, why are you so pouty over a pair of glasses?" asked Goro nonchalantly.

"I look like a nerd..."

"Well, be fair, you are a nerd."

"Fuck off."

Goro laughed as Ren elbowed him as hard as he could in his side. The chestnut haired boy tried to calm his giggles as Ren pouted again.

"Honestly though, I think they look really good. They suit you." He said after finally composing himself.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think they look pretty cute."

"Y-You think so?" Ren asked bashfully, his cheeks turning pink as the sudden compliment caught him off guard.

"Yeah! Like, uh... How do I describe it? Um, The frames really suit your face shape? Plus, they make your eyes look a little bit bigger? Just cute." Goro awkwardly tried to explain. Ren just silently fiddled with his hair.

“Seriously though, why are you so upset about having to wear glasses?” The chestnut haired boy continued. 

“I’ll get bullied ‘cause they look stupid…” Ren muttered bitterly.

“No, you won’t! They look amazing!” Goro insisted with a bright smile.

“Yes, I will. We go to middle school. Everyone knows that middle school kids are the absolute worst.” The raven haired boy huffed. Goro just sighed and fell silent. He did have a bit of a point there… There were a lot of spiteful kids at their school… As the two boys continued walking in silence, Goro's phone suddenly began to ring. The duo jumped at the sudden noise as Goro pulled out his phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pancake." A soft woman's voice came through the speaker.

"Hey mum, what's up?"

"Um, I have to work overtime tonight, just found out about ten minutes ago..." She paused to let out an irritated huff. "So, yeah, I'm not gonna have a chance to go grocery shopping before coming home... There, uh.... Oh crap, hang on-" She paused again, but Goro could hear lots of paper rustling through the phone speaker. "Okay, where was I? Uhhhhhh, oh yeah, so I think there's a couple of microwave meals left... Would you be okay with having that for dinner? I'm probably not gonna be home until... Maybe eight?"

Goro let out a long huff. "Yeah. Yeah, that's fine. Don't worry, I understand. Just... Don't overwork yourself, okay? And stop letting that piece of shit manager make you stay late!"

A choked giggle made its way through the speaker.

"While that is an accurate description of him... I'd much rather you didn't use that kind of language." She reprimanded her son, trying and failing to hide her amusement. "Anyway, I'll see you later. Bye, Pancake, love you!"

"Bye, mum. Love you too." Goro replied sweetly before hanging up and sliding his phone back into his coat pocket.

"Y'know, you could just come have dinner at my place." Ren offered after overhearing the entire conversation.

"Oh, no, no, it's fine. I don't wanna intrude." Goro politely declined.

"How the hell would you be intruding? You do realise that my mum basically thinks of you as a second son, right?" Ren chuckled, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"Sure, but it's impolite to just show up uninvited..." Goro replied.

"It's not uninvited if mum's always telling me to bring you over. Besides, we're having monjayaki tonight." Ren persisted, his smirk growing into a grin.

"I do like monjayaki..." Goro muttered under his breath.

"Good! Then it's settled. I'll let mum know." Ren cheered, pulling his phone out of his pocket and began typing. His thumbs grew slower as he squinted his eyes and leaned closer to the screen. Goro couldn't help but giggle as Ren sent the message and slid his phone back into pocket. As he looked back in front, he suddenly noticed a telephone pole.

"Oh! Ren! Careful, ther-!" He warned him too late as Ren walked face first into the pole.

"Owwwwwwwww... Son of a bitch!" The raven haired boy groaned, clutching his nose.

"Still getting used to the glasses, huh?" Goro snickered and gently grabbed Ren's chin to take a look at his nose.

"Yeah... It's really messed up my depth perception. Going downstairs this morning was a nightmare… Especially since the cat was taking a nap on one of the steps..." Ren hissed, his nose still throbbing slightly from the impact.

"Yeah, I bet." Goro chuckled softly.

“Dad had to catch me as he was walking into the living room.”

“That sounds pretty impressive.”

“I’d like to say it was, but I couldn’t see anything. So I can’t.”

"Fair enough… Well, I can't see anything wrong and there's no blood, so I think you'll probably just get a bruise." He concluded after analysing the injury.

"It still hurts, though..."

"Well, it will."

"I don't want it to hurt."

"I can't help you there."

"I can't see shit."

Goro smirked and rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I can help you there." He announced as he linked his arm with Ren's and shoved his hand back into his coat pocket.

"What're you doing?" Ren asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose as his cheeks flushed a deep pink.

"This way, you won't walk into anymore telephone poles!" The chestnut haired boy joked.

"Yeah, I guess that's true... Thanks, Go." Ren sighed with an exasperated smile. Goro just smiled pleasantly back at his best friend with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Now, shall we get going, milord?"

"The hell?"


	3. It's A Promise

Sakura petals gracefully fluttered to the ground as the final school bell of the year rang out. Tearful goodbyes were everywhere to be seen in the vicinity of the school's entrance and courtyard as the third years prepared to leave their high school behind and become adults. Ren was sat on the nearby riverbank, anxiously waiting for his childhood friend and trying to hold back his inevitable tears.

"Hey! Here you are!" A voice called out to him. Ren turned his head towards the voice and, sure enough, there he was. Goro. The chestnut haired boy was smiling softly at his best friend as he took a seat next to him. Ren's eyes couldn't help but stray to the corsage being pridefully displayed on Goro's chest and the diploma tucked safely into Goro's bag. The raven haired boy just stayed silent as he tried to stop his lip from quivering.

"Aww, c'mon, why're you so upset?" Goro asked, slinging his arm around Ren's shoulders.

"It's gonna be hard to go through school without you..." Ren mumbled as it really began to hit him that Goro was leaving and the tears began to fall from his eyes.

"What're you talking about? We've done this twice before." chuckled Goro.

"Yeah, but we could still hang out 'cause we lived close by... You'll be going to Tokyo, so I'll be stuck in Inaba all by myself..." Ren dejected explained, staring down at the river. Goro sighed quietly to himself. He knew this, of course. He was just trying to forget how nervous he was about living away from everyone he grew up with.

"Yeah... Yeah, I know... But, we can still text and call each other! I can't promise that I'll answer every time, 'cause y'know, I'll probably be busy, but I promise that we'll talk as much as possible!" Goro offered with a cheery smile. Noticing that Ren was quietly considering his words, Goro continued. "Besides, something tells me that you'll probably be going to university in Tokyo, so it'll only be one year apart." He joked, patting Ren's shoulder. The glasses wearing boy giggled quietly through his tears and nodded slightly. A silence fell over the duo as some of Goro's classmates walked past them, most likely going somewhere special to celebrate their graduation.

"It's weird... Thinking that I'm an adult now." Goro eventually said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, like... God, I don't know how to explain it... Uh... Like, I've just been doing what adults have told me to do for years. Sure, I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and working towards it. Plus, I’ve been able to take care of myself when needed to. But... Now, I'm just suddenly in charge of myself, y'know? I mean, I'm not as unprepared as some of my classmates. Some of them have no idea how to take care of themselves, I guess I'm lucky that my mum taught me how to become... I dunno, a functional adult?" The chestnut haired boy uttered, clearly nervous. Ren just laughed softly as he was unsure how to respond. Sure, he knew what Goro meant, his parents had been teaching him all this important stuff too. It was just difficult to say your thoughts when you were busy crying over having to say goodbye to your childhood best friend.

"Hey, Ren, do you think you could do me a favour while I'm in Tokyo?" Goro cautiously asked. Ren lifted his glasses and furiously wiped his eyes before turning to look Goro in the eyes. The chestnut haired boy couldn't help but sadly chuckle to himself at the sight of Ren's red eyes.

"Sure thing." Ren choked out.

"Could you... Keep an eye on my mum for me? You know how she can get sometimes, and I'm worried that me leaving her alone could have a bad impact on her..." Goro pleaded, fiddling with his corsage anxiously.

"Of course. Besides, I doubt my mum would leave her alone. She’ll definitely invite her over for dinner a lot, I can promise that ‘cause she’s been discussing that with my dad a lot recently. She'd probably take her out on a 'girl's outing' or something if she's feeling down." Ren agreed instantly.

"That's good to hear..." Goro sighed in relief before falling silent once again. He didn't think that his goodbye to Ren would be this awkward... but then again, neither of them had any idea what to say... The silence was only broken by the soothing sound of river and the birds chirping.

"So, um... I got you something..." Ren quietly announced, dipping his hand into his school bag.

"Oh?" Goro hummed curiously. Ren pulled out a Featherman Red keychain and handed it to Goro.

"I figured that, even though we're gonna be living far apart, we could at least have proof that we're still friends..." The raven haired boy bashfully explained, pulling out his own Featherman Black keychain. The two keychains were matching.

"Thank you, Ren. I love it." Goro answered with a bright smile as he carefully attached the keychain to his phone. Flattered by Ren's gift, the chestnut haired boy finally worked up the nerve to do what he had been planning to do for weeks. It was today or never.

"I've, uh, I've actually got something for you too..." He stuttered as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Hm?" Ren hummed, glancing up at Goro in curiosity. The chestnut boy took a deep breath to calm himself before gently pulling the second button off of his school uniform and handing it to Ren. The glasses wearing boy stayed silent as he stared at his childhood friend in disbelief, his cheeks slowly flushing to a bright red. Goro himself had pink cheeks as he gently held Ren's hand and placed the button into his palm.

"I-I just... I... I really, really like you.... Have for a while now... Didn't know how to say it..." He shyly mumbled as he pulled his hand away from Ren. The raven haired boy quickly grabbed onto Goro's hand and pulled it back, keeping a soft grip on it.

"Then... You should just say it." He muttered, unable to make eye contact. Goro's eyes widened when he realised what Ren meant before letting out an embarrassed groan.

"I.... I love you..." He finally mumbled, his face now a bright red. Ren stayed silent. Goro could feel his heart pounding against his chest. As he was inwardly panicking, he felt a sudden weight on his arm. Ren had leaned over and rested his head on Goro's shoulder. He was staring down at the river with a shy pout and a bright red face, clinging onto Goro's hand.

"I love you too..." He admitted with a bashful whisper. Goro couldn't help but laugh. Half of it was from relief that his feelings were reciprocated. The other half was just that Ren's face was too cute and puffy and he just found it funny.

"What?" Ren huffed, looking up at Goro.

"Nothing, nothing." Goro chuckled as he reached his other hand over and softly stroked Ren's hair away from the blushing boy's face. Ren sat himself up straight and shifted his hand until his fingers were interlocked with Goro's. The chestnut haired boy lowered his hand from Ren's hair to Ren's cheek before eventually placing his hand underneath his chin. The two boys stared at each other and then carefully leaned in and shared a gentle kiss. All they could hear was their hearts pounding before pulling away.

"Ow..." Goro uttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Oh! Sorry! D-Did my glasses hurt you?! Oh crap, I should've taken them off!" Ren panicked, flushing an even brighter red than before.

"No! No, it's fine!" Goro reassured him before quickly bursting into a laughing fit. Ren ended up laughing hysterically along with him. They leaned on each other for support as they bent double with laughter. After finally calming down and regaining their breath, Ren gazed up at Goro.

"Hey, we'll... always be together, right?" He asked, squeezing Goro's hand, the button sandwiched between their hands. Goro lifted his free hand and extended his pinky finger towards Ren. The raven haired boy lifted his own hand and wrapped his own pinky around Goro's, interlocking their pinkies together. Goro just let out a soft chuckle and smiled at Ren lovingly.

"I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand it's finished. I couldn't help but worry if this chapter is too short, but I just couldn't think of anything to add or how to make it longer, so sorry about that.
> 
> Also, for anyone who was confused by the button thing: I recently learned about a tradition in which students give the second button of their uniform (the one closest to their heart) to the person they love on the day of their graduation. And honestly? That's one of the sweetest things I have ever heard.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this pretty short fic and thank you so much for reading all of it. <3


End file.
